IF Steve McClaren wants to hang onto his job as the England manager, then he needs to start making some tough decisions - and quickly.

The former Middlesbrough boss has been slaughtered by the media since England's limp performance in Israel at the weekend, and some of that criticism is justified because the buck ultimately stops with him.

However, some of the players must also carry the can for the recent poor performances because they simply haven't produced the goods when the chips have been down.

This squad, remember, was labelled the Golden Generation' going into the last World Cup.

But how often have they managed to live up to that hype during the last 18 months? The answer is not very often.

Players like Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney continue to shine in the Premiership.

But when it comes to playing for England on the international stage, they often flatter to deceive, so maybe it's time they were given a kick up the backside by the manager.

It looks to me like too many players in the England squad are living in the comfort zone. They know their place in the team is virtually guaranteed and they've lost their edge as a result.

It's McClaren's job then to freshen things up, and maybe if he shook things up, it may have the desired effect.

Perhaps if Lampard was dropped to the bench, or even Rooney, that might just be the spark that gets them going again.

Both players have failed to deliver for some time now. Wayne's last competitive goal for England came in Euro 2004, which is a startling statistic for a guy with so much natural talent.

But people should also remember that Wayne is only 21 and he still has a lot to learn about the game at this level.

At the end of the day, all strikers go through barren spells and that's exactly what is happening to Wayne right now, so perhaps he would benefit from a spell out of the firing line.

The same can also be said of Lampard, too.

After a poor World Cup, he's become an easy target for the press and I think that's affected his performances, although he's not the only one under-performing - plenty of others in the squad are failing to live up to their star billing as well.

If I was McClaren, I'd be looking to introduce some new blood into the squad to freshen things up and restore some hunger.

David Bentley proved once again at the weekend with his performance for England's Under 21s that he is maturing into a decent player, and I think it's time he was given a chance in the senior squad.

He's got the ability to unlock defences and that's a quality England are clearly lacking at the moment.

The English game is all about getting the ball out wide and getting crosses into the box, but the England team are trying to do everything through the middle instead and it's just not happening for them.